Study Date
by TheHeavenlyBuddy
Summary: Dee Dee needs help with her math homework, so who does she turn to? Why, the one and only Mandark Astronomonov. What could possibly go wrong during this "study date"?
**Woah, calm down. Don't worry guys, this is NOT some huge new fan fiction I'm starting out of nowhere. I know many of you might have been disappointed if that was the case, considering that I can't even do 2 gosh darn fan fictions on a regular basis... This is just a quick one-shot, no need to fear**

 **Anywho, I recently got back into Dexter's Laboratory for one reason, and for one reason only: DEE DEE AND MANDARK! I used to love them as a couple and I still do for some reason ^_^ I haven't seen much episodes lately (20, at the most) so please don't kill me if there are any continuity errors in this...**

 **So I thought the idea of Mandark tutoring Dee Dee was adorable, and I wanted to write about it. So here's a little one-shot about it! I hope you like it! :)**

* * *

It was the end of the day at Huber Elementary School. All of the students were already piling out of their respective classrooms like wild bull stampeding through a pasture. Though, one of these students weren't like the others. This student was the infamous genius at Huber Elementary, Susan- Er... Mandark Astronomonov, for he was in no hurry to leave school

"Ah.. The wonders of trigonometry!" Mandark sighed, happily, squeezing onto his mathematics textbook. Despite being in an elementary-like setting, he found advanced Math rather simple, for a genius of his kind

Mandark was probably the only child alive to actually find any real enjoyment in things like homework and polynomials. Well, **one** of the only children, to be more specific. For his rival, Dexter, had almost the same exact interests as him. Well, "almost" is the key word. While Dexter had loathed his older sister, Dee Dee, Mandark had adored her, ever since he laid his eyes on her

But, honestly. What were the chances that such a "glorious goddess of golden locks" (as Mandark called her) would ever have any interest in him? Sure, she was dense, and probably didn't have much to any standards anyways, but she had enough brain cells to know that dating Mandark was a dumb idea

Besides, how could they ever become an actual couple? Her brother hated his guts for Pete's sake! But somehow, he'd find a way. He knew he could

Before leaving to go outside and wait for his bus to arrive, he made sure to catch a long, meaningful glance at Dee Dee, as she exited her classroom. He could only see her 3 or 4 times a day at school, so he had to make each moment count. Of course, they rode the same bus home, but she's usually sitting in the back with her 2 carbon copy best friends Lee Lee and Mee Mee, and Mandark's own sister, Lalavava

* * *

Our next scene starts with Mandark, being dropped off at his neighborhood by the bus, and so were some other children that lived near the boy

As the other kids ran to their homes, laughing and chattering with one another, Mandark trailed behind them, walking and playing with his calculator

"Oh, my sweet Dee Dee.." He whispered to himself, still holding the calculator "You don't need a calculator to tell you that "Me + You = Perfection! It's almost common sense!" He keeps on pressing the buttons of his calculator until he reached his house. The door was usually left open for him when he got home, in case his parents were busy meditating and couldn't be bothered to open the door for him

Once he entered the house, he saw that no one seemed to be downstairs. The living room was clear, and so was the kitchen. His parents must've been upstairs, since their "psychedelic" van was parked out front. His sister wasn't downstairs either. Then again, the kids that were dropped off were rushing to their homes, so she must be in her room also. Not that Mandark minded much, he did enjoy peach and quiet

He went to his kitchen table and began his homework assignment, and it was on integers and integer operations. Like mentioned previously, Mandark had high school knowledge when it came to mathematics, so this shouldn't be too difficult at all

"Hmm.. -28 minus 7 would be..." He thought for a moment, chewing on his pencil's eraser "... -35!" He scribbled down his answer, next to the equal sign by the equation "Ha! This should be easy!"

While in the process of working, Mandark's berry-colored haired hippie mother, Oceanbird, arrived downstairs, revealing that she was, indeed, upstairs

"Good afternoon, Susan" She politely and calmly greeted her son "I see you're working on your homework assignment?"

"Mandark" Mandark corrected her "And yes, I am, mother. I'd appreciate it if you didn't bother me while in the process!" He shot back at her

But his mother was unfazed by his ill-mannered behavior "Of course, Susan. My apologies"

"Mandark.." He angrily repeated through gritted teeth, clenching onto his pencil

Before Oceanbird could exit the kitchen and go back to her bedroom, the landline rang

"Oh! I wonder who that must be!" She asked herself, walking back to the blaring telephone. She answered

"Hello? ... Oh, hi there, dear! ... Hm? You need to speak with him? Sure!" She removes the phone from her ear "Susan, it's for you!" She hands it to him

"For me?" Mandark asked, while his mother nods in response

 _Who could possibly want to call me? Was it someone from school?_ He thought to himself. He snatches the phone from his mother, who now heads back upstairs

"Er.. Hello?" Mandark timidly answers

"Hi Man-dork!" Screams a cheery, feminine voice on the other line. Mandark could notice that voice anywhere, any time. And as soon as he heard it his flushed drastically and he began to get extremely nervous

"... Oh my goodness.." He silently whispered. It was Dee Dee! Why was she calling him! Did she dial a wrong number or something? Are her and her friends making prank calls or something? He tried his best to let all of this sink in, but it was absolutely positively unbelievable

"Um... Hello? Man-dork?" She calls out again "Are you there? Helloooo?"

Mandark finally snapped back to his senses "Huh? What? Oh! H-Hi Dee Dee!" He stuttered, pulling his collar as he sweated "Wh-Why are you calling? And m-my name is Mandark..."

"Oh! Well, I was just calling because, I'm looking at our homework assignment in Math, and I'm so confused!" She said, staring at her paper again "I mean, I know that the teacher explained it and all, but I was wayyyy too busy brushing my Pony Puff Princess figures' manes while she was talking! So I was wondering, could you help me? Y'know, since you're always studying, I figured you were smart"

Mandark was completely baffled. Dee Dee wanted homework help from HIM of all people? There were a ton of other smart guys at her school, why pick him out of all of them? But he wasn't about to miss an opportunity to spend time with her

"O-Of course!" He continued to stutter, turning more red with every word. He was now holding onto the phone with his life. He could hardly even believe it "Where should we meet?"

"Hmm.. Wanna meet at your house? My mom can drop me off there!" Dee Dee suggested, still in her usual loud and obnoxious tone

"Ok! I-It's a date! ... Agh! I-I mean-" Mandark exclaimed, feeling like an idiot

"Ok sure! I'll see you later, Mandark! I mean, Susan! Hehe!" She giggled, hanging the phone up

Mandark kept the beeping phone in his hands, eyes wide as saucers and still blushing. He wasn't sure if he should be overjoyed because he was invited to do homework with Dexter's older sister, or embarrassed because he just made himself look like a complete fool on the phone. Well, it **was** a date.

Except they were studying.

And not really in a relationship.

And have no kind of relationship, whether it be platonic or romantic.

And never mind it's not a date

"Ugh.. I was hoping she didn't remember that whole 'Susan' thing... It was months ago!"He moaned, covering his face

"Don't worry Mandark, you can't forget, Dee Dee's coming over to your house to work on homework with you! It can't go that bad!" He said to himself "... Can it?"

* * *

Mandark was already pacing back in forth in front of his house's main entrance "Ok, Mandark. Remember, be cool and don't ruin this for yourself! This is a one time opportunity, it's now or never, you hear me?" He said to himself

"Susan? Who are you talking to?" Oceanbird calls from upstairs

"Ah! N-No one, mother!" Mandark shrieked, slightly embarrassed that his mother overheard him talking to himself like that

And just at that moment, their doorbell rang

"I'll get it!" Mandark yelled, trying to get his parent's attention. He opens the front door, and sure enough, Dee Dee was standing right there. Grinning like usual, she was holding onto her math textbook with both her hands

"Hi Mandark!" She greeted, finally saying his name right for a change

"H-Hi Dee Dee!" He replied, waving in his usual jittery manner when he was near Dee Dee "How are you?"

"I'm great! Especially since my Pony Puff Princess collection is finally complete! I have all 167 ponies from generation 1, all 152 ponies from generation 2, including the rare golden pretty pony with only 7 copies throughout the entire United States! Also, I have all 86 ponies from generation 3! I showed them to Lee Lee and Mee Mee yesterday, and we spent the entire day brushing their hair, and reading them stories! Also, we-"

"How about we start working on our homework assignment, Dee Dee?" Mandark interrupted, Dee Dee nodded in response. He knew he'd need to learn to get used to Dee Dee's big mouth if they were gonna do this assignment together

"Wanna work on the project in my bedroom? I have a table in there we can use to-"

"Ooh! Ooh! Can we work in your lab?" Dee Dee eagerly pleaded "Please? Oh please, oh please, oh pleaseee?"

Mandark wasn't sure how to respond. He didn't want to bring her into his lab, ever since the last time she went in and demolished the entire place. But at the same time, he didn't want to disappoint her. But he knew what to do

"Er... How about we not go into my lab..." He slowly begins to tell her. But Dee Dee's excited grin quickly turned into gloomy frown "Oh... Ok..." She sighs "I'm not that surprised anyways. I never really saw you as a fun-loving person, Man-dork!" She angrily crossed her arms and stuck her nose up in the air

 _"Aw! Great thinking, idiot! Now she's mad!"_ Mandark scolded himself in his head _"Ok, maybe working in the lab wouldn't be THAT bad of an idea... I just need to make sure to keep her under control, that's all!"_

"Wait! On second thought" Mandark said, holding his hand out "I-I'm just kidding! Of course we can do our work in the lab!"

Dee Dee began smiling again "Really?! Yay! Yay!" She cheered, as she sprang up and down to her feet. She began grabbing onto him in a choke hold hug, still jumping up like a rabbit "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!"

"N-No problem!" Mandark croaked, this time stuttering not from nervousness, but having Dee Dee's hands grip around his feeble neck

"Ok! Let's go!" She shrieked, grabbing onto Mandark's hand and rushing up to his room

Though Mandark should've been much more concerned that Dee Dee was dragging him around the stairs like a blanket, he couldn't help but notice that she was holding onto his hand "She's... She's holding my hand.." He said to himself

"Huh? Did you say something, Mandark?" Dee Dee asked

"Nope! Nothing!" He nervously grinned at her. Once they reached his bedroom, they both noticed that it was quite a mess. Which was odd, since Mandark was usually a tidy, organized person

"Oh, sorry about the mess" He said "I kind of forgot to clean here last week"

"It's fine!" Dee Dee said, scurrying past the piles of laundry everywhere. But she stops in her tracks as she notices a certain item of clothing on top of one of the mounds

"Susan, are these your underpants? Hehehe!" She giggled, holding up his "unmentionables"

Mandark began to become red again at the mention and the sight of his underwear "Er.. H-How about we keep going!" He drags her over to his closet, which was the entrance to a much larger room, his laboratory

"Welcome to my laboratory!" Mandark bellows, leaving an echo throughout the whole lab

"Ooh! Pretty!" Dee Dee gushed "It looks just like my brother's lab! But... Bigger!"

"Yes, of course. Not that you should be surprised. He **IS** a simple-minded barbarian compared to me, isn't he, Dee Dee?" He asked her

No response

"... Um Dee Dee?" He turns around, and she wasn't there. Where had she went? But soon this question was answered, when he spotted her running around his lab like a rambunctious cheetah. Jumping on things, tackling things, you name it

"Whee!" She happily exclaimed, as she bounced up and down

"AHH!" Mandark screamed. He feared something like this would happen "Wait! Dee Dee!" He tackles her over, for he knew merely telling her to stop wouldn't work

"Huh? What is it?" Dee Dee asks, slightly irritated

"M-Maybe in stead of playing around in the lab, we can maybe do your homework?" Mandark asks, trying to sound as polite as possible "Since that was the whole reason you came in the first place, and all.."

"Oh riiiiight!" She said, coming back to her senses "Why else would I come to your house? Hehe!"

 _"She's right"_ Mandark admitted to himself _"The last time Dee Dee came to my house was to babysit me..."_

Mandark leads her to one of his work tables. It was free of any inventions or beakers, so they were good to go. Dee Dee pulled out her homework assignment from her textbook and placed it in front of him. There was silence

"... Well?" Dee Dee finally spoke up "Aren't you gonna do it?"

"Oh! I-I wasn't gonna do it for you. I was just thinking that maybe I could teach you how in stead!" Mandark said, once again, hoping that he isn't hurting her feelings

"Aw... I was hoping you'd do the work for me!" Dee Dee whined "Please? Pretty please?"

Mandark loved Dee Dee, but doing her work for her? He wasn't **THAT** infatuated

"But, think about it" Mandark begins "If I did your work for you, then you wouldn't know how to do it later on. Then you'd have to keep coming to my house to ask me to do it for you"

"Hmm.. You have a good point there. I'd never want to come to your house every single day!" Dee Dee said

 _"Phew..."_ Mandark wasn't entirely sure if he should be offended by that comment or relieved

"Ok, so let's get started" Mandark says, looking at her paper "So, you know how to subtract and add integers, right?"

"Hm? What are integers?" Dee Dee asked

 _"This is gonna be a long day..."_ Mandark groaned to himself. He points his pencil to the number "-13" on her paper "This is an integer, Dee Dee" Then he points it to the number "4" "And this is the number you're subtracting it by!"

"Now, since 13 is negative, subtracting it by 4 would only make it smaller, like any ordinary number" Mandark explains

"So.. It would be -9?" Dee Dee asks

"No, with negatives, the smaller the number the larger it is" Mandark says, hoping she was following along with him

"Huh?" Dee Dee asks

"So... Um.." Mandark says, searching for a term to use so she could understand better _"What's that thing she's always talking about? Pony... Pony Puff Princess?"_

"Ok, Dee Dee. Let's say you had 13 Pony Puff Princesses" Mandark said, looking her straight in the eye "And then you bought 4 more, how many Pony Puff Princesses would you have then?"

"Oh! Oh! 17 Pony Puff Princesses!" Dee Dee exclaimed, raising her hands in the air "But I have **wayyy** more than that!"

"But it has to be an integer, since negative plus positive equals negative!" Mandark explains

"Ohhhh! Then it'll be -17! Right?" Dee Dee asks

"Yes! See? You're getting it already!" Mandark smiled. He knew Dee Dee was smart. Somewhere in that minuscule brain were a few extra brain cells

"Wow! This is fun!" Dee Dee giggles "Math is so much better with ponies!". She starts doing some of the other addition problems on the sheet on her own, scribbling and erasing throughout the paper

Mandark enjoyed helping her, but he was still very confused "Um.. Dee Dee?"

"Yes, Susan?" She responds, innocently batting her eyelashes

"Well.. If you needed help with your homework, why didn't you just ask Dexter? He's almost just as smart as me"

"Well, I was going to ask him" Dee Dee said "But he can get really impatient with me. He's always saying that I'm 'too difficult' for him, or something like that" She sighed

 _"Of course. It's just like Dexter to say such ridiculous things to his sister like that"_ Mandark said internally

"Maybe he's right, I guess I'm just not so smart..." Dee Dee sadly admitted, shrugging

Mandark was shocked. He knew Dee Dee wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but he wasn't aware that she knew that "No! Dee Dee! That's not true at all!" He reassured her

"... Really?" Dee Dee asked, almost sounding like she was going to cry

Mandark tentatively, yet, tenderly placed his hand upon Dee Dee's "Of course. Don't mind Dexter, he has no idea what he's talking about. You're the most intelligent, most beauti-..."

Awkward silence

".. Er.. Yeah! Most intelligent girl I know!" He repeated, nervously grinning for about the 100th time today

"Hey, Mandork! How do I do this one?" Dee Dee asked, pointing at another problem on the work sheet. This one was subtracting positive numbers from integers

"Oh, well that shouldn't be too difficult" Mandark said, getting a better look at the paper "This is just like ordinary subtraction, except you're adding... So.. It's not really subtraction after all.. Heh heh.." He timidly laughs at his own jokes _"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"_ He scowled to himself in his head

"And with negatives, like I said, the bigger the number, the smaller it is. So if you're subtracting, as in, getting rid of, that would make the number smaller"

"Subtracting what again?" Dee Dee asked, clueless to what he just said

"Subtracting... Er.. What was it again.. Pony Puff Princesses!" He remembered

"Oh right!" She looks at her problem. -15 - 9. "It's... -24!" Dee Dee exclaimed

"Exactly! See? You're getting the hang of it!" Mandark grins _"Apparently, the only thing that makes school easier for Dee Dee are her own interests..."_

"Hehe! Thank you Susan!" Dee Dee smiled

And without even thinking, Mandark angrily screeched, raising his hands up "Agh! Would you stop calling me that?!"

Dee Dee was confused. Not only did she think his name was Susan, so she didn't know why he was mad, but she wasn't used to seeing Mandark so angry at her. She was slightly offended, but had a more frightened expression on her face "... Huh?"

Mandark quickly covered his mouth, as if he spilled a secret "Oh my goodness, Dee Dee! I-I didn't mean to yell at you like that! I really didn't! I just hate it when people call me that dreaded name, Susan!"

"But.. Why don't you want people to call you Susan? Heck, why is your name even Susan?" Dee Dee asked

Mandark sighed, looking down "It's kind of a long story. My parents wanted a 'name beyond the conforms of society' and a 'name without preconceived gender connotation'" He answered, adding air quotes at each explanation

"Wha-? Preconserved- HUH?" Dee Dee asked, unable to keep up with what he was saying "Well, whatever you just said, I like the name Susan! It's so pretty! I want to be named Susan!"

"Well, that doesn't help" Mandark complained "The fact that a girl wants to be named Susan just makes it all the more worse..." He looked down sadly, with his eyes closed. Dee Dee couldn't just leave him like this. Especially since he cheered her up just a few minutes ago when she was sad

"But... If it makes you feel any better.." Dee Dee quietly said "I could call you Mandark, from now on..."

Mandark looked at her, emotionless and silent for a moment. But soon, his straight face became a small smirk, then a half grin, then a smile, and then a full on toothy grin "Really?! You would?"

"Of course! Whatever makes you feel better" Dee Dee replied. Mandark had never seen this side of Dee Dee. A side of her that wasn't completely crazy and hysterical, but a completely different girl. A kind, understanding, and sensible girl. Mandark had always thought Dee Dee's ecstatic personality was really cute, but he loved seeing her in more depth

".. Th-Thank you.." Mandark stutters, holding onto her hand again

And in stead of pulling her hand back in disgust, or even slapping him across the face, Dee Dee blushed a little. She had always gotten the slight feeling that Mandark might've had a crush on her, but she could never have been completely sure. She took his other hand, held it, and raised both their arms up at chest level. They were now both holding each other's two hands. They gazed upon each other's eyes for a long, solemn, and sincere moment

"I've always thought you were just some loser, like my brother..." Dee Dee admitted, looking deep into Mandark's eyes "But.. Now that I could spend more time with you, I finally see that I was wrong. You're actually really nice..." She grinned

And as the two gripped each other's hands, their faces came closer, and closer to each other, and that's just when...

"Hey! Can I look around your lab now?!" Dee Dee blurted out, ruining the moment

 _"Looks like the old Dee Dee's back now.."_ Mandark silently groaned

"Please? I'm done with my homework!" Dee Dee pleaded, now on her knees "Oh please, oh please, oh PLEASE?!"

After that moment they just shared, Mandark DEFIANTLY wasn't in the mood to get Dee Dee sad. But he couldn't risk anything happening again. Especially after he built a brand new lab just mere months ago

 _"Just say no... Just say no.. Just say-"_

"Y-Yes! Of course you can, Dee Dee!" Mandark says, letting go of her hands

"Yay!" Dee Dee yelled. She hopped off her chair and began frolicking around his lab carelessly "La la la la! Ooh! Pretty!" She tries to look down a test tube, lying on top of his experimentation desk

 _"Please don't break anything..."_ Mandark pleaded inside his head

And the more Dee Dee pranced and danced around the place, the closer she came to shattering a beaker or tearing off the arms to a new robot he built. Mandark was at the edge of his seat, biting his nails in anxiety. It was like watching a horror movie and waiting for the jumpscare. But even Dee Dee was clueless to what she was doing. She didn't break anything, but she came awful close to it

While skipping around, Dee Dee ran into an extremely large, metallic piece, pushing her to the ground "Ouch! What the heck?!" She looked up, only to see that above that large hunk of metal was a much larger robot. It was about 5 times bigger than Dee Dee, and looked slightly intimidating. Though, it was currently powered off

"Ooh! What's this big thing?" Dee Dee asked, turning to look at Mandark

"Oh! That's just some robot I've been working on" Mandark says "It's kind of a prototype, so its coding is a little buggy, but besides that, I'm proud with my work!" Mandark said, walking over to the robot. "It's not very stable yet, so I suggest you keep your distance". "And with all of this metal, it can withstand pretty much anything!" He pats the robot's huge leg twice, to prove his point "See that?" He pats it again, but this time, not in the best spot

At that exact moment, the robot's eyes flash red as he powers on

"Oops, looks like that was the 'on' switch" Mandark said "Let me turn it off" He walks behind the robot, looking for its "off" switch "Hmm.. Now where did I put that switch?"

But before he could find it, the macro-sized metallic beast threw its arm down, and quickly grabbed onto Dee Dee, clenching its fist

"H-Huh?" She fretted, realizing that the robot now had a hold of her. And that's when the robot began lifting Dee Dee up in the air. It's eyes flashed an even darker red. And it's previously circle-shaped eye carved eye balls turned into an aggressive-like expression

" **DE-STOY. DE-STROY** " The robot gravely repeated, marching off through his lab, still tightly holding onto Dee Dee in the air

"Ahh!" Dee Dee shrieked "AHH! SAVE ME!"

Mandark heard her screams immediately, and saw what was going on. He gasped "Ah! Dee Dee! I'm coming!" _"Agh.. I knew that prototype was buggy, but not **that** messed up!" _He rushed into his cabinet, full of his inventions. Hopefully he could find something to rid of the giant robot

"HELP!" Dee Dee screamed a second time

"I-I'm coming!" He repeated, as he searched for a weapon faster. The only other time he had to save Dee Dee in a similar situation was at the science fair competition, at the hands of his monster, Jojo. Soon enough, he came across one of his older inventions, his jetpack and his power glove, which had built in projectiles "Perfect" He straps on the glove and wears the jetpack. He hits a button on the side of the flying machine, and he's soon sent up in the air, face to metal face with the robot

"Ok, robot, you wanna do this the hard way?" Mandark challenged the machine, who merely stared, still with despicable red eyes. The robot begins rapidly shooting out laser beams from it's eyes, which Mandark was prepared to dodge. Mandark pulled out his power glove in retaliation, rapidly pressing buttons on it, causing mini torpedoes to be shot at it, but 9 inch torpedoes were no match for this macro machine

" **DE-STROY** " The robot bellowed again. This time, he used his free hand to shoot a much larger torpedo at him, which, once again, Mandark dodged skillfully

"Is that all you've got? Ha! I programmed you! I know your every move!" Mandark cackled proudly. He aimed his power glove straight at the robot's eye, making sure he had the correct target. One accidental slip and he could blow Dee Dee's head smack off

He pressed a large red button on the palm of the glove, causing large laser beams to fly into the robot's eyes, stunning it for a mere moment

"Ha! I think I stopped him!" Mandark said

"Really?!" Dee Dee asked astonished "Yay! You're my hero!"

Mandark blushes "I-I am?"

"Of course! Hehe!" She giggled. And before she could escape the robot's clutches, it began to come to. And before either of them knew it, it punched Mandark right smack in his back. And 500 lb. of android alloys against his body obviously caused him a great deal of pain

"Agh!" He exclaimed, as he hit the ground like a sack of bricks

Dee Dee gasped, placing her hands on her mouth "Mandark!"

The robot slowly stomped in front of Mandark, who was now quivering in utter pain on the floor, powerless

It held up his free arm, the same one he used to pulverize Mandark. He began to charge up a large laser

" **DE-STROY** " It bellowed loudly

"Hey! Leave him alone, you big bully!" Dee Dee exclaimed. She tried to pull herself out of his arms, but it was no use. She was unable to think of a well-planned out idea, so she had to stick to her last resort. She edged a bit and got a hold of his other arm, the one he was about to blast Mandark with "Hey robot!" And that's when she furiously sank her teeth into it's arm, causing sparks to fly from it like crazy. Still using her teeth, she bites the entire thing off and throws it aside. Guess all that candy gave her some pretty large molars

"Woah..." Mandark said, with his jaws dropped "H-How did she even.."The robot now had only one arm, which was gripping onto Dee Dee, he was completely helpless without ito

Mandark saw this as his last chance to stop it. He backed up and uses his jetpack to fly behind the robot, and with the element of surprise, he kicked him as hard as he could. And he wasn't sure if it was because of adrenaline, but the kick was strong enough to push the entire heap of nuts and bolts towards his lab's wall, shattering it into pieces all over the floor. It was too bad, that robot took a while to build, but he did what he had to do "Ha! Take that!" But he just realized, if the robot was destroyed, Dee Dee must be...

"Ahh!" Dee Dee screamed, as she fell from the air. At the height she was, falling to the ground could easily injure her

"Oh no! Dee Dee!" Mandark fearfully exclaimed. He ran around the place, trying to catch her. This was no time to look for inventions, he had to do this on his own "Hold on! Dee Dee! I-I'll catch you!"

"AHH!" She yelled even louder, the closer she got to the ground, but when she least expected it, something caught her

Well, some **one** to be more specific

There she was, in Mandark's arms. Holding her, ol' damsel in distress style. They both stared at each other, unsure what to say, but they both turned red for a few seconds

"... Th-Thank you, Susa- ... Mandark.." She smiled, holding onto him, even tighter

".. It was my pleasure.." He grinned

"Hehe! You're my hero! My knight in shining armor!" Dee Dee happily cheered, hugging him even tighter than she was before

Mandark couldn't help but smile. All of this seemed like some kind of amazing dream

"Dee Dee.. There's something I wanna tell you... And after all this, I find it somewhat appropriate.."

Dee Dee began to face Mandark again "Hm? Y-Yeah?"

He was silent for a moment "... I've kind of always had a-"

 **BEEP! BEEP!**

Dee Dee and Mandark jump at the sound of this. It sounded like a horn, and sure enough it was

Dee Dee looks out his window, and she spots her mom's car out in the driveway

"I think my mom's here to pick me up!" Dee Dee says. She picks up her textbook and starts to leave, but stops in her tracks "Wait. Mandark, what was it you were about to tell me?"

"... Nothing, never mind"

"Oh, well, I had a great time today" Dee Dee said "Even if I did almost get killed by your giant robot. Thanks so much for helping me with my homework!"

"A-Anytime, Dee Dee!" Mandark happily stated

Dee Dee smiled at him, and before leaving, she walked back over to Mandark, and kissed him right smack on the cheek "Mwah!"

Mandark just stood there, motionless and speechless. This was the first time he had ever even gotten close to being kissed by a girl. He was pale for a moment, then red, and then began sweating "Er.. I-I-I.." he stuttered, falling to the ground

"Hehe! Good night Mandark!" She laughed, skipping out of his laboratory

Mandark just laid there, motionless. He didn't know what to say or do, but he did know one thing

"... D-Dee Dee kissed me.." He said, trying to contemplate what had just happened. His previously emotionless expression soon became a nervous grin ".. Good night to you too.." He sighed, drifting back off to his trance

* * *

 _ **EPILOGUE**_

The very next morning, all of the school children were on their way to Huber Elementary School on their bus

As usual, Mandark found himself sitting near the front of the bus, away from the much more "popular" and "social" kids, like Dee Dee and her friends. The 3 girls spent the entire time tittering and giggling to each other about their favorite subject: boys

Mandark would much rather not hear about what guy Dee Dee was crushing on in stead of him, so he decided to listen to one of his favorite audio tapes: _The Father of Genetics: Gregor Mendel_

But before he could put on his headphones, something caught his attention

"So, Dee Dee? Are you crushing on anyone?" Lee Lee inquired

Dee Dee thinks for a moment "Hmm.. Yeah!"

 _"Ugh, just what I thought"_ Mandark groaned _"Of course Dee Dee's in love with some popular guy in school"_

"Who? Who?" Mee Mee and Lee Lee pleaded, desperate to hear the guy who caught her eye

"Here's a hint!" Dee Dee said "His name starts with the letter 'M'!"

Now Mandark was really starting to get into the conversation _"'M'? But.. My name starts with a... No! Never! Of course not!"_ But it couldn't hurt to hear what they were saying

"Is it Marcus? He's pretty cute" Mee Mee asked

"Nope!" Dee Dee replies

"Matthew? Do you like Matthew?" Lee Lee asked

"No way!" Dee Dee says, nodding her head "no" "He's always picking his nose, you know?"

"Milo! I bet it's Milo!" Mee Mee guesses

"Or Maxwell?" Lee Lee says

"Marshall?"

"Marco?"

"Malcolm?"

"Melvin?"

"Max?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, and... No!" Dee Dee answers "You guys aren't anywhere close! Hehe!"

"Oh, come on, Dee Dee! Give us another clue!" Mee Mee begged

"Ok! He's really, really smart!" Dee Dee says

The 2 girls take a good 30 seconds to come up with their answer "Is it... The new kid Mason?" The two say in unison

"He's really smart!" Lee Lee says

"And he's really cute!" Mee Mee says

"Nope! Not even close!" Dee Dee replied

"But the only other guy whose name starts with 'M' and is really smart is..." The two say ".. Mandark?!"

They were silent for a moment, and that's when Lee Lee and Mee Mee burst into a fit of giggles

"Ha ha! Like Dee Dee would like Mandork!" Mee Mee laughed

"Yeah! He's so lame!" Lee Lee giggled "You don't actually like him, do you?!"

Dee Dee merely shrugged "Guess we'll never know, will we?"

Lee Lee and Mee Mee stopped laughing, and looked at each other, perplexed "Huh?" They both says

Dee Dee just smiles and continues looking out of the bus window. They had no idea what to think now

 _"... What? 'Guess we'll never know'? What's that supposed to mean?"_ Mandark thought _"D-Does Dee Dee really like me? That can't be right.. But.._

 _"I guess we'll never know, will we?"_

* * *

 **I really hope you liked this! I sure enjoyed reading it! Please leave reviews! Also, about that whole part with Mandark hesitating to confess his love to Dee Dee, I** **wasn't so sure if she already knew or not. It's never really made clear in episodes. In "Used Ink", Dee Dee knew Mandark used the pen to make her kiss him, giving the impression that she knows, but right after that in "Babe Sitter", she acts oblivious to his obvious crush for her, so I don't know for sure. Either way, thanks for reading!**


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